Loose leaf binder



Oct. '15, 1935. WEATHERLY 2,017,742

LOOSE LEAF BINDER Filed Oct. 25, 1953 ATTORNEY5.

Patented Oct. 15, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to a loose leaf binder and particularly to a binder for voluminous loose leaf data to which reference is constantly being made. One important use of the invention is for catalogs of automobile parts and accessories used by jobber-s and in repair garages and similar establishments. Such catalogs require many hundreds, and even thousands, of pages to list the thousands of parts of the many makes of automobiles and accessories, and the filing of such data in a completely satisfactory manner has been heretofore an unsolved problem.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a binder in which a great number of separate leaves may be filed in such manner as to be readily available for reference and easily replaceable when out of date. Another object is to provide a binder in which every page of printed matter is completely visible, no matter how many such pages are bound together and no matter how narrow the inner margins may be. Another object is to provide a binder such that the loose leaf filler, when opened to a certain page, will remain open at that page.

The features of the invention by means of which these and other objects are accomplished will be apparent from the following specification and claims and the attached drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of the binder with a large filler therein. Fig. 2 is a plan view without filler. Fig. 3 is an end view of the same.

In the form of the invention illustrated in the drawing, there are provided two substantially .flat rectangular backing members l and II.

These are preferably formed of wood and are laminated to prevent warping. In one edge of the backing member Hi, there are secured two binding rods l2 which extend completely through the backing member H and project from the far edge thereof when said members are in the position shown in Fig. 2. Similarly, a pair of binding rods H are secured in the edge of the backing member II and extend completely through the member In. Each of said backing members is freely slidable upon the rods secured in the other of said members so that they may be moved toward and away from each other to decrease or increase the space between them.

There is also provided a supporting frame consisting of end members l4, front and rear longitudinal members l5 and a central rib IS. The backing members It! and II rest upon the end members I4 and the central rib l6 and are guided in their sliding movement by the upwardly projecting edges ll of the front and rear members l5.

In the use of the device, the backing members and the rods secured thereto are drawn away from each other until completely separated 5 Sheets of the loose leaf filler having holes properly positioned for the four binding rods are then threaded onto the rods secured to one of the backing members. The rods secured to the other backing member are then inserted through 10 the remaining holes in the filler and the two backing members are pressed together until the rods secured to each member enter the proper openings in the other and until the proper space is left between the backing members for the thickness of filler inserted. The two backing members and the binding'rods thus become a rigid, telescoping structure which may be placed fiat on a desk or table or may be placed on the special support illustrated herein.

It is to be noticed particularly that the backing members are not pressed tightly against the filler sheets as is done with other forms of binders. This permits the formation of a space 18 between the opposite sides of the filler material when opened but does not destroy the rigidity of the structure. The space l8 insures that each page is completely legible to and beyond the binder rods. Thus, printed material having too narrow a margin for other types of binders may be filed and remains completely legible.

The relative looseness of the binding of the sheets also permits the same to lie fiat upon the faces of the backing members at each side and detroys the tendency for a sheet to move from one side to the other, which is found in all tightly bound volumes when left open. The filler may be left open at a given page and will remain open at that page. Where the sheets are relatively narrow, the tendency to lie flat may be increased by the insertion of spacers l9 between the pages of the filler 20 at short or long intervals, as desired.

It will also be seen that because of the looseness of the binding, there is no limit to the num- 5 her of sheets that can be inserted in a single binder and conveniently used. No matter how many sheets are filed, every sheet is instantly accessible and completely legible.

The fact that the binding rods telescope with the backing members in the direction parallel with the faces of the backing members also furnishes several advantages. In other forms of binders having greatly varying capacity, the binding posts or rods must be made in sections or must be arranged so that each rod passes through only a part of the filler in order to prevent the posts from projecting an objectionable distance when the binder has a small filler. By telescoping the rods and backing members as herein described, sectional posts are unnecessary and each rod may pass completely through the filler, yet there is a range of adjustability without projection of the rods equal to the full face width of the backing members. When the rods are made sufliciently long to project slightly for a small filler, 'as shown in Fig. 2, the range of arjustability is, of course, correspondingly increased.

Another advantage of the construction herein described is in the replacement of out-of-date sheets. In many other forms of binders, it is necessary, in removing a sheet from the center of the volume, first to remove from the posts all preceding sheets. When replaced, these sheets must usually be rethreaded singly or in small numbers since it is impossible to preserve the registry of the holes. With the present invention, the volume is opened at the desired point and the backing members are separated by pressing upon the sheets of the filler at either side of the opening. The sheets to the left of the opening remain threaded on the rods 12 while those to the right remain threaded on the rods 3. The holes thus remain in register and no individual rethreading is required.

While the foregoing description illustrates a preferred form of the invention, the details thereof may be varied without departing from its scope as defined in the appended claims. For example, I do not wish to limit myself to exactly four binding rods. Nor do I wish to be limited to a wooden structure with the rods passing through the backing members. Thinner sheet metal members may be used, in which case the rods would be suitably secured to the bottom thereof and would be slidable in cleats secured thereto. Other similar variations will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.

The invention claimed is:

l. A loose leaf binder including a. pair of rigid backing members adapted to support the outer leaves of a loose leaf filler in open position, and binding rods extending between said members, said members being slidable toward and away from each other along said rods and being retained thereby with their upper faces substantially in a common plane.

2. A loose leaf binder including a pair of rigid backing members having upper faces adapted to support the outer leaves of a loose leaf filler in' opened position, and binding rods extending between said backing members and upon which said filler is threaded, said backing members being slidable toward and away from each other along said rods.

3. A loose leaf binder including a pair of substantially fiat rigid backing members adapted to 5 support the outer leaves of a loose leaf filler in open position, and binding rods secured to one of said members and having the other of said members slidably mounted thereon, said rods extending in a direction substantially parallel to the 10 upper faces of said backing members.

4. A loose leaf binder including a pair of substantially flat backing members positioned substantially in a common plane and adapted to support the outer leaves of a loose leaf filler in 5 open position, and binding rods extending between the same, upon which a loose'leaf filler may be threaded and along which said backing members are movable toward and away from each other. 20

5. A loose leaf binder including a pair of substantially flat backing members positioned substantially in a common plane, binding rods extending between the same, upon which a loose leaf filler may be threaded and along which said 25 backing members are movable toward and away from each other, and a support for said backing members having guide members for guiding said backing members in their relative movement.

6. A loose leaf binder including a pair of substantially fiat backing members positioned substantially in a common plane, binding rods extending between the same, upon which a loose leaf filler may be threaded and along which said backing members are movable toward and away from each other, and an inclined support for said backing members upon which said members are slidably retained.

7. A loose leaf binder including a pair of substantially flat backing members, each permanent- 40 ly positioned with one of its faces uppermost in position to support the outer leaves of a loose leaf filler in open position, and binding rods extending between said backing members, said members being slidable toward and away from each other along said rods and said rods extending in a direction substantially parallel to the faces of said backing members.

8. A loose leaf binder including a pair of backing members having faces of substantially the size and shape of the leaves of a loose leaf I filler, said faces being positioned substantially in a common plane, whereby they support the outer leaves of said filler in open position, and binding rods extending between said backing members upon which said filler may be threaded and along which said backing members are slidable toward and away from each other. 7

WILLIAM J. WEATHERLY. 

